Natural Gas Power For Honda Generator

[Bat Guano]

I have a 6500 watt auto-gas powered Honda Inverter. It can run the whole place so capacity is no issue. I have a natural gas connection to my house, and my plumber has no problem tapping that for a generator. It seems that running this unit on NG would be a much better fuel source than fooling around with 5 gallon cans of gas that present a certain hazard, require pouring liquids, go stale, and in times of shortage everyone will be lined up to buy ($) and hoard.

There appear to be some 'tri-power' carburetor conversions to allow the use of LPG, NG, and auto fuel on the internet. My local Honda dealer's only comment was that it was against federal law--which sounds fishy to me.

If anyone has insights or experience with this I would like to hear of it.

Thanks.

 

[truckemup97]

Honda sells generators that were specifically made to run on NG. I have seen many, many standby generators from your size all the way up to a 65kw system that were built to run on NG. That part can't be illegal. And if it were illegal to convert one to NG, would fleaBay allow so many sellers to offer NG conversion kits?

If you can replace a carburetor, you can install a conversion kit. If your plumber is willing to hook it up, then why not? If you are going to run it through your breaker box, I would suggest having an electrician install the proper switch gear.

ETA: Your outputs may be slightly changed, lower, running on NG. It has less BTU, so it produces less power. I wouldn't think you'd lose more than 10-15%.

 

[HCD]

My 2 cents

I dont know anything about illegal, but when we had ours installed it did have to meet code. And the only thing we had to insure is the line from the tank to the genny had to be copper with no rubber line for the tap line. That was the only gig we got.

Edit to add: Hey quick correction, my genny is an LP not NG was not thinking bout that. Carry On.

 

[JohnnieB]

.............There appear to be some 'tri-power' carburetor conversions to allow the use of LPG, NG, and auto fuel on the internet. My local Honda dealer's only comment was that it was against federal law--which sounds fishy to me.

Ask Honda Dealer to cite the federal statute.

Considering Honda sell Tri-Fuel generators (NG, LPG and Gasoline) it does seem strange for their dealer to admit they are breaking a federal law.
Maybe he's just trying to sell you a Tri-Fuel model or upgrade.

No experience with NG fueled generators, but the LPG ones work just fine. In fact they start better in cold weather than the Gasoline and Diesel fueled ones do.

 

[ditrina]

Best move I ever made was going to a NG generator.. When the power goes out.. the stations can't pump... suddenly I found myself with 10 5gal cans.. sitting around..
NOT GOOD..
I switched to a bit larger Generator that was a TRI power.. Plumber came out we hooked up the supply with industrial quick NG disconnects the correct size flex hose and it works great

A couple of my neighbors decided to go the conversion route.. ordered the kit from an outfit up in the Carolinas..( Just checked.. West Virginia)
now half the block has NG generators..

If the power is out... it may take a week to fix.. if there is a break in NG service.. guess what gets attention QUICK

Go for it!!

 

[BEARMAN]

Our fleet trucks ran on NG, some still do. NG fuel is IIRC 130 octane rated, and burns much cleaner than petroleum based fuels. You can also go twice as long between tune-ups. Like truckemup97 said, you will lose 10% to 15% power loss; but the trade off in savings will more than compensate for the difference. IMHO

I'd go for it, if I were you. Let us know your results, if you do decide to go that route.

-Bearman

 

[mtgianni]

It is against Federal law to convert any gas appliance to a fuel for which it is not specifically listed for on it's rating label. I would doubt anyone has ever been prosecuted for running a unit with other than the listed fuel but dealers have been fined for converting appliances not listed as approved for Nat gas to Nat gas. The "Juristiction having authority" aka the gas company, can refuse you service if you hook it up and run it on an un-listed fuel as they will be liable and fined if found out. Your Homeowners policy can refuse to pay if there was an un-approved appliance hooked to an improper fuel.
This came about with LP reforms in the late 90's and early 00's. Too many deaths had occurred from improperly installed heaters and other gas appliances and the Feds fixed things.

 

[m1gunner]

I did the conversion on my 6500 generator more than 10 years ago. It runs great, and I have it set for propane right now. Can also run on NG or gasoline.

Do a search on propane conversion kits, that is how I found mine.

 

[raisedin99]

I converted my 11 HP Generac portable 8 years ago to a tri fuel unit using a kit from this company:
Generator Conversion Kits to Propane and Natural Gas.
Best move I ever made, I did have to upsize my existing NG piping due to the location that my generator would be placed in the event that it was needed. As for the company great technical support... If I recall correctly there is approximately a 10% power loss because of the btu's of natural gas...